We often describe Wyoming’s four seasons as: Early Winter,
Winter, Still Winter . . . and Construction.

Yes, we are
definitely in the construction season.

As anyone who
has traveled anywhere across the country recently knows, America is tearing up
and repairing its highways.We encountered
an amazing amount of highway re-construction projects during a quick road trip from
Wyoming to Nebraska to Iowa and Illinois earlier this month.

As readers of
this column know, Nancy and I love trips like this.Here are a few highlights.

I always love
rivers, and this trip included crossing lots of them.First was the Wind River at Boysen Reservoir,
which is still running high late in the season.

In Casper, the
North Platte is such a classic river. We rolled down Interstate 25 and crossed
this river again at Douglas, where again it was broad and powerful.

Once in Nebraska, we caught up with the
rainy weather that had bedeviled the Midwest in late August and early
September. Interstate 80 was busy with semi-trailer trucks and lots of cars and
non-stop construction.

In Iowa,
windmills are everywhere.The Hawkeye
State now gets 37 percent of its power from wind, which is the highest
percentage of any state.

Wyoming may be
catching up soon in the number of windmills, though.Kara Choquette of Rawlins reminded that the
$5 billion Chokecherry and Sierra Madre project is coming along. The$3 billion Trans West Express Transmission
line will carry all that power.

In the Omaha
area and southwest Iowa, we caught the end of the torrential rains, which had
drenched those areas and caused previous high temperatures to dip into the 60s.
When we were packing for the Iowa trip, we figured on lots of shorts and tee
shirts. We replaced those items with jeans and long sleeve shirts.

I would highly
recommend checking out the Omaha marina area if you get to that part of the
country. The Bob Kerrey Walking Bridge is spectacular with a wonderful view of
the Missouri River.

We crossed
Iowa amid amazing construction sites and found ourselves in Cedar Falls, a neat
college town.

We drove
scenic Highway 3 from Cedar Falls to Dubuque – great views. Dubuque is Iowa’s
oldest city and one of the most amazing small cities in the Midwest. Julien
Dubuque founded this historic locale in 1788. It contains classic structures
including two breweries, churches, big and unique bridges, and even an ancient shot
tower.A railroad bridge that swiveled
to make room for big barges to pass through is located there on the Mississippi.

One of my
favorite sayings when enjoying a spectacular view with good company goes
something like this: “there is nowhere on earth I would rather be than right
here, right now.”

We were there on a magnificent fall
day and as we sat along the River Walk along the Mighty Mississippi, I repeated
to my brother Jim and his wife Laura this comment. It was just a spectacular
moment. Not Yellowstone or the Tetons, but one heckuva of a pretty nice spot.

Backbone Park,
which was Iowa’s first state park is located an hour from my hometown of Wadena.
It was closed because of the high rains. My sister Mary, who lives next to
Backbone in Dundee, endured 12 inches of rain over a five-day span.My brother Jim called the rain “biblical.” It
was seemingly not related to Hurricane Florence but the timing was similar.

My hometown is located in a part of
Iowa known as Little Switzerland. My brother John lives there. We went to the
cemetery and visited the grave of my dad, Tom Sniffin Sr. Sure enjoyed John’s
homegrown watermelon and fresh tomatoes for a late afternoon snack.

Earlier we had
stayed in Harlan, in western Iowa, with Nancy’s sister Patsy and her husband
Roger.This little town, where I worked
for six years at the newspaper and met my wife, is the nice bustling little
county seat of Shelby County. Nancy’s kid sister Tami, who is battling cancer,
was in high spirits and doing well.

Enroute home,
we stopped in Omaha, to spend time with relatives at Big Fred’s, a famous pizza
joint in the western part of the city.Some of the best pizza ever!

We traveled
2,000 miles through four states in seven quick days. Saw many loved ones and visited
former stomping grounds. It was a wonderful time but it is sure good to be back
home in Wyoming!